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Senator Dianne Feinstein’s return prompts renewed scrutiny over her fitness for office

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

By Kristin Wilson, Ted Barrett and Nicky Robertson | CNNJust a week after her return to the United States Senate after a roughly three month absence, questions continue to swirl around Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her mental capacity to serve in the world’s greatest deliberative body.The 89-year-old Democrat had been recovering from shingles at home in San Francisco, and had been absent from the Hill since February.Her long-awaited return on May 10 not only meant that the Senate Democratic Caucus would be at full attendance – since both Feinstein and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman had been absent for much of the spring – but that the one-seat margin Democrats held on the powerful Judiciary Committee would be reconstituted to help advance President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer greeted the frail Feinstein personally upon her return, when she was wheeled into the Capitol for a vote accompanied by staff on and off the floor. Schumer said Feinstein...

Big networking and tech firm signs downtown San Jose office lease

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

SAN JOSE — A big telecommunications networking and tech company has leased space in a prominent downtown San Jose office tower, according to public real estate records.Ciena Corp. has rented office space at 50 West, a highrise located at 50 West San Fernando Street in downtown San Jose, documents on file with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.The Ciena leasing agreement represents a welcome counterpoint to the dreary landscape of vacant storefronts, empty office sites and underutilized restaurant spaces in downtown San Jose.Companies are engaged in an uneven return to the office in the wake of government-mandated business lockdowns to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.Downtown San Jose’s office vacancy rate was 16.9% during the January-through-March first quarter of 2023, an improvement from the 17% office vacancy level in the October-through-December fourth quarter of 2022, Cresa, a commercial real estate firm, reported.During both of the surve...

Editorial: Seven threats AI presents to the future of our society

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

We are only beginning to fully understand the ethical challenges and potentially disastrous consequences posed by artificial intelligence.Stephen Hawking warned that “the development of artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” And in 2018, Elon Musk admitted, “I’m very close to the cutting edge in AI, and it scares the hell out of me.”Tech leaders understand the need to regulate AI. While testifying before Congress on Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that Congress create an agency that would issue licenses for large-scale AI models. He also urged that the agency craft safety regulations and tests that AI models must pass before being released to the public.That may be just the start of what is a massive undertaking — one that Congress and the tech industry can no longer postpone and must attack with alacrity and bipartisanship.For better and worse, the extent of AI’s reach carries the potential to transform every aspect of ...

Mold, sewage discharge among unsafe living conditions at unpermitted housing discovered in Monterey County

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

PRUNEDALE – Fines are mounting for the landlord cited last week for running an illegal farmworker housing camp in a rural area of Royal Oaks, where around 200 people – including children – were living in unsafe, substandard conditions, county officials said Wednesday.After discovering the unpermitted housing, the county imposed a fee of $59,600 on the landlord, which officials said last Thursday would increase daily while violations remain on the property. In an update to media this week, the county stated, “Daily fines leveed on the property owner are tolling as long as tenants occupy the units.”Nick Pasculli, county communications director, said that as of Wednesday, “a number of folks have relocated” but that he could not give an exact number.The unpermitted housing, discovered at a nursery on the 1100 block of San Miguel Canyon Road in Royal Oaks, was fashioned out of two old agricultural buildings, including a dilapidated greenhouse, according to Pasculli. Between the two build...

Eriksson to leave Chelsea Women after 6 years at English champion

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Magdalena Eriksson is leaving Chelsea Women at the end of the season after a six-year spell at the London club she helped establish as the dominant force in the English game.The Sweden center back made the tearful announcement on Thursday.Eriksson has been Chelsea captain since 2019 and is looking to lead the team to a third straight Women’s Super League-Women’s FA Cup double before leaving. It has already won the cup and leads the league by two points with two games left.“It’s been such an amazing journey so I feel I’m not only sad, even though it might look like it,” the 29-year-old Eriksson said in a video on Chelsea’s Twitter feed.Eriksson joined Chelsea from Swedish team Linkopings in 2017. She has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Police discover weapons, drugs after disarming man of modified BB gun

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Boulder Police Department says they found a variety of items, including drugs, a hand grenade, collector baseball cards, and jewelry, while searching a suspect.The incident started when police were called for a man sleeping in front of a door on the second floor of a building in Boulder.When police arrived, they said the situation quickly turned into, "things not to do when talking to a police officer." Aurora man accused of $9 million cryptocurrency theft BPD said the officer tried to gently wake the man, which he remembered from a previous arrest.While checking the man's identity, BPD learned he had a warrant out for his arrest.At that point, the situation changed and the man started digging into his pockets and his backpack, even though the officer told him not to, BPD said.Police said the man then pulled a gun out of his coat pocket and the officer quickly grabbed it and put the man in handcuffs and called for backup. Child sex assault suspect dressed as...

How dandelions benefit lawns, gardens and critters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Dandelions are popping up everywhere in Colorado, and they are benefitting the soil, plants and creatures around them.Though they are often seen as weeds that should be removed, the little drops of sunshine that polka-dot lawns and gardens actually have a variety of benefits. The best time to water plants, lawns in Colorado "There's just this idea that it's a weed and we should get rid of it, which is a sad thing because dandelions do so much good on all sorts of levels," ethnobotanical herbalist and author Tammi Hartung said.Dandelions are packed with nutrients. They make for an excellent food source and medicine for humans, but Hartung said they are also very beneficial to other vegetation."They are one of the very first things to bloom in the spring, and that is really important for all of the native bees and the domestic bees when they are looking for something to gather pollen and nectar from," Hartung said. Colorado farmers markets near you While the birds...

DeSantis expected to enter 2024 presidential race next week

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

(CNN) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to enter the 2024 presidential race next week, two Republicans familiar with the matter tell CNN.DeSantis will file paperwork next week with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy, one Republican said, with a formal announcement expected the following week in his hometown of Dunedin, Florida.The filing of the paperwork will occur as DeSantis gathers top fundraisers in South Florida, where, as CNN previously reported, he is expected to signal to them that it’s time to start asking their wealthy friends for checks. Another source said about 100 hotel rooms have been reserved at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami for the gathering.That source, however, cautioned that the planning remains a moving target and DeSantis is known to surprise even his closest allies with last-minute changes. However, the fundraisers being summoned to Miami are expecting the campaign to be officially launched so they can begin calling donors once the...

Love at First Bite: Arizona couple ties the knot at White Castle

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (KPHO, KTVK) — Love is in the air for Scottsdale newlyweds Drew and Jamie Schmitt, who tied the knot this Cinco De Mayo at the White Castle in Scottsdale. The two lovebirds had already gotten engaged when they were inducted into the White Castle Hall of Fame in 2019, so logically, this was just the next step. “I have to do this,” Drew said. “It’s a necessary thing.”The Schmitts had been together for 15 years before finally tying the knot. But they both have long accepted that White Castle will always have a piece of their heart. “If you really, really, really love sliders, and you crave your partner as much as you do the sliders, then it’s a match made in heaven,” Jamie said.Drew and Jamie said “I Do” to each other, but also to a giant slider wedding cake, crowns and armor, and around 150 family and friends joining them at their happy place. “I couldn’t wait any longer,” Jamie said.For Jamie, White Castle isn’t just a place she and Drew eat at hundreds of t...

Moldova to EU: Let us in ASAP 

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:21:20 GMT

The EU should let Moldova into the bloc “as soon as possible” to better protect the country against rising Russian threats, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said Thursday.The country of 2.6 million people has for months accused Moscow of trying to destabilize it over Chișinău’s staunch support of Ukraine and pro-Western path, warning the Kremlin has deployed hybrid warfare and sent “saboteurs” to stoke unrest. Russia also put pressure on Moldova by slashing its gas supplies.“Nothing compares to what is happening in Ukraine, but we see the risks and we do believe that we can save our democracy only as part of the EU,” Sandu said in an interview with AFP, adding that Russia would “continue to be a big source of instability for the years to come.”Last month, the EU sent a civilian mission to Moldova, wedged between Ukraine and Romania, to help combat the growing threats from abroad.Russia has also tried to fan tensions between t...